Better coaching keys Heritage football's remarkable turnaround

December 03, 2013|By Dave Johnson, djohnson@dailypress.com

NEWPORT NEWS — He hadn’t been born yet, but it’s almost like Heritage High coach George Massenburg somehow was taking notes at the time.

When John McKay took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1976, the franchise was in the dumpster. He stressed a five-year, worst-to-first plan that induced giggle fits across the league. But McKay only needed four years. The Bucs went from 0-14 in his first season to 10-6 and the NFC Central title in his fourth.

When Massenburg was hired at Heritage in 2011, he faced a similar situation. The Hurricanes were coming off an 0-10 season, which followed back-to-back 1-9 finishes. The program was, in the simplest of terms, a mess.

“When I got here, one of the ladies in the office asked me, ‘How long do you think it’ll take to get this program turned around?’ “ Massenburg said. “I told her within three years we’d have a chance to be in the playoffs, and by the fourth year, hopefully, we could make something special happen in Newport News.”

As with McKay, Massenburg is ahead of schedule. After a 3-7 improvement in year one, Heritage won six games and made the playoffs in year two. In year three, the Hurricanes are 12-1 entering Saturday’s Group 4A state semifinal at Dinwiddie.

No team in Peninsula District history has made such a three-year turnaround. And consider this: Heritage has won 21 games in Massenburg’s three seasons. That’s one fewer than the Canes had won in their previous seven seasons combined.

How did all this happen? One word: Coaching.

Not just Massenburg, who has won three Coach of the Year honors in three seasons (Peninsula District twice, Conference 18 once). His staff is comprised largely of veterans who are used to winning. That many of them have connections to the winningest program in VHSL history is no coincidence.

Massenburg came to Heritage from Hampton, where he won two state championships as a player and one as an assistant. His defensive coordinator, Weymouth Williams, is a former Crabbers player and assistant with two rings.

Three other staff members have Queen Street connections. Jacobi Fenner and Jamal Williams are former players; Mike Hagans was a Hampton assistant (and is the father of ex-Crabbers quarterback Marques Hagans).

The rest of the staff includes former Heritage players Linwood Martin and Raymond Malone, along with Rodney Taylor, Ivory Ellison and D.J. Nunn.

“We’re a good mix of personalities,” Massenburg said. “We spend a lot of time together. This past Sunday, we were in here from 9 o’clock (a.m.) to 4 o’clock (p.m.) breaking down film and coming up with ideas.

“When I was at Hampton High School, they had three coaches who had been there for over 20 years — Coach Smith, Coach (Danny) Mitchell and Coach (Alvis) Mann. The continuity of a coaching staff is very, very important. We all start to think alike.”

Yes, the program is winning. But principal Michael Nichols also likes how the players handle themselves — on and off the field.

“They’re good football players, but more important they’re also good young men,” he said. “You can even see that on the field. You don’t see a lot of unsportsmanlike conduct or personal-foul penalties. They have good character.”

To fully understand how far this program has come, consider the seniors were freshmen during that 0-10 season of 2010. The Hurricanes were outscored that year 411-32. They went their first six games without a touchdown.

Losing had become the norm.

“My ninth-grade year, when I was on JV, I’d look at the varsity and see them doing bad and nobody caring,” tailback Juany’e Patillo said. “I thought, it’s going to be like this my four years. But when Coach Massenburg came in, I could see it would be a change.”

It’s changed to the point that Heritage can win a playoff game while not playing its best. In last week’s 13-7 win over King’s Fork, the Canes did nothing offensively until their final drive — and that was significantly helped by two 15-yard penalties on the Bulldogs.

But the defense was lights-out. And the offense produced when it absolutely had to.

“Right now, winning has become the expectation,” Massenburg said. “When we lost to Phoebus (26-9 in Week Nine), the guys took it hard. We didn’t want to do that anymore.”